Personal Development

Learning how to become the best version of you can be a difficult journey. But a worthwhile journey. The ‘Geared Success’ method is about simplicity and efficiency. Learn how to work within your own limits and you’ll watch as the world opens out to you.

Personal Development – Where Do I Start?

When athletes begin training, they first asses where they are now. They look at their performance and then put together a training plan. It’s so important that you look at personal development in the same way.

An athletes training program then consists of phases, a base phase (the foundations of conditioning), followed by a build phase and then the fine tuning. This works, it is proven to be effective and this same method will help you achieve the success you want.

Initial Assessment

If you don’t know where you are, how can you plan where you want to go?

Take the time to work out who you are now, what you are capable of and how far along the road you are towards your goals.

The things you need to understand are:

Health

First and foremost, your health is essential. If you are unwell, unhealthy or otherwise damaged, you are unable to perform at your best. You will be unable to commit to the demands your goals have.

There are two umbrellas for health issues

Things you can change.

Things you can not change.

Things you can change – you are in control.

It may take time, but investing in improving your health will make achieving your goals possible. Look at the following:

Diet

Alcohol and/or drug consumption

General Lifestyle

Sleep Habits

Friendship groups and those who influence you

Can you make changes for the better to any of these things? Do you have health problems, mental or physical that drain your energy? You need to act on these before you begin committing to ambitious goals.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends, family and Doctors if you need it!

Things you can’t change – learn your limits.

Some health problems can’t be changed or controlled. You may be able to ease your symptoms but they may never go away. You need to learn to work around these. Look at how your health problems limit you and then ask yourself what you can do to get around them. You can still be successful if you have mental or physical problems that hold you back, but you need to put the right systems in place.

If you struggle with fatigue it’s time to accept a business that will demand your attention for 80 hours a week won’t really succeed. If it does – Will you be happy or will you just be a shell operating on a totally empty tank?

Success doesn’t have to be millions in the bank. Take the time to find out what success means to you. If you have impossible dreams, you will struggle to find happiness and contentment.

Wealth

What do you have now? Do you have debts? Do you have Assets?

Take the time to work out your own net worth. You can do this by working out all the things you own, along with their realizable value and then deduct the things you owe money on or to.

The results may shock you – for good or bad. A few people that have done this with me have discovered the hundreds they have paid off each month on their mortgage or on debts has been gradually reducing them – they are worth a little more than expected!

Your Goals

Take the time to write down your goals. Now you know where you are, you can look at your goals and asses whether they are really achievable.

There may be some goals that you discover you are ready to let go of.

Ask yourself with each target:

How will it make me feel?

How will it make those around me feel?

Maybe there are new things you now want to achieve that you didn’t realize before. Write them down!

Plan of Action

It’s time to put together a plan. Now you know where you are and you have an idea of where you want to go, you need to map it out.

Base Targets

Start at the bottom and build up. If you can’t can’t ride a bike, you wouldn’t aim to ride next years Tour De France!

Without the basics – the advanced is impossible!

If you are unhealthy and feeling bad everyday – forget your plan to be a multi-millionaire. It’s time to focus on feeling fit and healthy.

If you already feel healthy and ready then ask yourself if you have the skills you need. Do you know enough about your goals? Have you neglected to learn simple things or gain experience because you think it’s not important? Take a step back and accept you probably don’t know as much as you need to. It’s okay not to be an expert, but accepting it, allows you to be open to learning. Get hand dirty and you will gain knowledge and earn respect from those around you.

Build Targets

Once your machine is running properly (you are healthy and understand what you’re trying to do). It’s time to build on these foundations. This is when you start putting your big goals into the picture.

You need to maintain what was gained in the base phase and then build upon it. Start to work hard on the things you really want to achieve.

If you haven’t put in enough work at the base you’ll notice quickly that you struggle to achieve your goals and although at first things look promising, you will slip back down and have to start over again.

Things will always get in the way of you and your goals – but you will learn to get past them. This is the most fast paced part of your journey, the bit where things really seem to happen. When obstacles get in your way – remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing.

Fine Tuning

Once you have achieved your goals – it’s important to enjoy your achievements and learn how to maintain them. You may be able to step back at this point and enjoy your success but try not to take your eye off the ball.

Often at this phase people will start to think about new goals and targets and go back to a base phase for something new. High achievers who get to this stage are always looking to start a new journey.

The Geared Success method (and website) focuses on the Base, Build & Fine Tuning. It’s about learning to accept yourself and to achieve as much as you want within your boundaries.